Greetings
Our department is committed not only to curing disease but also to preserving each patient’s quality of life.To this end, we have one of the largest surgical cases in Japan for robotic-assisted surgery for benign and malignant tumors, as well as focal therapy using high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for localized prostate cancer. For robotic surgery, we have established a system for safely performing surgery, with multiple robotic proctors participating as surgeons or supervising physicians in all procedures. We also have experience with numerous cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia and urinary tract stones, allowing us to treat a wide range of diseases. Patients are referred to us from medical institutions throughout the country, primarily in Kanagawa Prefecture, and we promote close medical collaboration, especially with nearby medical institutions. We will do our best to be of service to you. We appreciate your cooperation.
Chair and Professor, Department of Urology
Sunao Shoji, MD., PhD., MBA.
Treatment details
In the Department Urology, we provide robotic-assisted surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and focal therapy with HIFU for prostate cancer as minimally invasive treatments for urogenital malignancies.We also have extensive experience in providing treatments depended on the each patients’ conditions with benign prostatic hyperplasia and urinary tract stones. For patients with advanced cancer, we provide multidisciplinary treatments that combine chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy.
Main target diseases
1. Genitourinary malignancies
At our hospital, we offer minimally invasive treatments including robot-assisted surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy. We have extensive experience with robot-assisted surgery, performing approximately 100 robot-assisted radical prostatectomies for prostate cancer, 65 robot-assisted surgeries for kidney cancer, and 20 robot-assisted radical cystectomies for bladder cancer (http://uro.med.u-tokai.ac.jp/rarc/index.html) annually. Recently, we have also introduced robot-assisted surgery (http://uro.med.u-tokai.ac.jp/ra/index.html) for adrenal tumors. For prostate cancer, we offer focal therapy (http://uro.med.u-tokai.ac.jp/focal/index.html) as advanced medical treatment (local ablation and coagulation therapy for prostate cancer using a focused ultrasound device), which aims to control cancer and preserve function by treating the cancer while preserving normal tissue as much as possible.
2. Ureteropelvic junction stenosis
Our hospital offers robotic-assisted surgery, allowing for shorter hospital stays.
3. Benign prostatic hyperplasia
At our hospital, we offer the following treatment strategies for benign prostatic hyperplasia based on the each patients’ conditions: transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR-P), holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP), transurethral enucleation of the prostate (TUEB), thulium laser enucleation of the prostate (ThuLEP), and water vapor therapy (WAVE therapy). We will propose the treatment that is most suitable for each patient.
4. Urolithiasis
Our hospital offers extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), transurethral ureterolithotripsy (TUL), percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PNL), and simultaneous percutaneous transurethral endoscopic surgery (ECIRS) (http://uro.med.u-tokai.ac.jp/ecirs/index.html). based on the each patients’ conditions.
5. For the patients with elevated PSA level
At our hospital, for the patients with elevated PSA leve, we perform ultrasound examinations or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), . For the patient who has the cancer suspicious lesions on the image if cancer is suspected, we perform MRI-transrectal ultrasound fusion image-guided targeted biopsy (http://uro.med.u-tokai.ac.jp/mri/index.html) would be considered. This technology reduces the burden on patients by accurately extracting tissue from areas suspected of cancer, allowing for efficient diagnosis. Our center has performed more than 2,000 of these biopsies, one of the largest case volumes in Japan and worldwide.
Main medical achievements
The table below shows the number of major surgeries we perform. We perform many surgeries, primarily robot-assisted surgeries. We also actively accept second opinions.
|
Surgery name |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
・Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy |
127 |
129 |
108 |
107 |
99 |
95 |
|
• Focal therapy for prostate cancer using high-intensity focused ultrasound. |
51 |
45 |
35 |
54 |
67 |
82 |
|
Robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy |
33 |
32 |
30 |
37 |
47 |
49 |
|
・Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy |
18 |
29 |
28 |
19 |
13 |
15 |
|
・Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy |
- |
- |
- |
- |
11 |
13 |
|
・Robot-assisted laparoscopic total cystectomy |
22 |
12 |
18 |
18 |
22 |
16 |
|
・Laparoscopic adrenalectomy |
4 |
6 |
10 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
|
・Robot-assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
1 |
4 |
|
Laparoscopic total nephroureterectomy |
3 |
3 |
5 |
11 |
9 |
7 |
|
・Robot-assisted laparoscopic total nephroureterectomy |
- |
- |
- |
- |
10 |
16 |
|
・Laparoscopic renal transplant harvesting |
20 |
20 |
21 |
20 |
11 |
21 |
|
Transurethral resection of bladder tumor |
130 |
142 |
149 |
131 |
171 |
178 |
|
• Magnetic resonance imaging-transrectal ultrasound fusion image-guided prostate needle biopsy |
137 |
134 |
157 |
202 |
203 |
226 |
|
Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate |
7 |
5 |
13 |
15 |
8 |
22 |
|
• Transurethral enucleation of the prostate (TUEB) |
2 |
23 |
24 |
22 |
27 |
28 |
|
Thulium laser enucleation of the prostate |
35 |
25 |
24 |
22 |
33 |
20 |
|
Transurethral lithotripsy (TUL) |
37 |
53 |
51 |
68 |
49 |
63 |
|
• Percutaneous and transurethral endoscopic surgery (ECIRS) • Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) |
7 |
5 |
15 |
24 |
21 |
21 |
|
• Transurethral steam therapy (WAVE) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
7 |
6 |
Doctor List
Clinical Director of the Department: Sunao Shoji
Assistant Chief Physician of Ward 14A: Nobuyuki Nakajima
Outpatient: 0463 (93) 1121 extension 6451
Chair and Professor, Clinical Director of the Department: Sunao Shoji
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Urological Association / Certified Urological Laparoscopic Technician / Certified Cancer Therapist / Urological Robot-Assisted Surgery Proctor |
| Specialized Areas | High-precision prostate biopsy, localized prostate cancer treatment using high-intensity focused ultrasound (focal therapy), laparoscopic surgery, transurethral endoscopic surgery |
| Outpatient medical day | Monday, Wednesday, Thursday (PM) |
Yoshiaki Kawamura, Associate Professor
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Urological Association Supervising Doctor and Specialist / Certified Urological Laparoscopic Technician / Certified Cancer Therapist / Urological Robot-Assisted Surgery Proctor |
| Specialized Areas | General urology |
| Outpatient medical day | Mondays and Thursdays |
Lecturer Nobuyuki Nakajima
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist and instructor of the Japanese Urological Association / Certified Urological Laparoscopic Technician / Certified Cancer Therapist / Urological Robot-Assisted Surgery Proctor |
| Specialized Areas | General urology |
| Outpatient medical day | Tuesdays, Thursdays |
Lecturer: Tatsuya Umemoto
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Urological Association Specialist / Certified Urological Laparoscopic Technician / Certified Cancer Therapist / Urological Robot-Assisted Surgery Proctor |
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Tuesday and Friday |
Assistant Professor Tatsuya Otaki
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist of the Japanese Urological Association |
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Tuesday and Friday |
Assistant Professor Soichiro Yuzuriha
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist of the Japanese Urological Association |
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Mondays and Wednesdays |
Jun Naruse, Assistant Professor
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist of the Japanese Urological Association |
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Mondays and Thursdays |
Assistant Professor Kunpei Takahashi
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday and Saturday |
Assistant Professor Daichi Nishikawa
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday |
Assistant Professor Moeko Tazawa
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday |
Clinical Assistant Professor: Airi Ichige
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Friday |
Part-time doctor: Masayoshi Kawakami
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist of the Japanese Urological Association |
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Thursday |
Part-time doctor: Takahiro Ogawa
| Specialization | Urology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist of the Japanese Urological Association |
| Specialized Areas | General urinary system |
| Outpatient medical day | Saturday |